Return Device for a Slide Drawer

ABSTRACT

A return device for a slide drawer employs an actuator to drive a slide block, when the drawer is pulled open, the slide block is moved into a positioning concave and positioned therein while stretching an elastic member. Or pushing the drawer back can make the slide block slide out of the positioning concave, meanwhile, the elastic member pulls the drawer back to its original position. Furthermore, since the angle between slide surface of the positioning concave of the positioning member and the track is acute, it is easy for the slide block to slide in and out, so that the drawer can be easily positioned and unlocked from the positioned state.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a return device for a slide drawer, which is related to the slide rail of the drawer and can enable the drawer to be pushed back effortlessly.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Nowadays, people have a growing request for quality life, most of them want their home to be clear and neat, hence various storage devices are necessary. The most basic storage device in office or home is the drawer which can be used in different kinds of furniture.

Conventionally, both the drawer and the corresponding furniture must be provided with slide rails for enabling the drawer to be pulled out or pushed back. Furthermore, a return device 10 capable of returning the drawer automatically to initial position appeared on the market, as shown in FIG. 1, which comprises an actuator 11 for pushing a positioning member 12, and in the middle of the positioning member 12 is arranged a support point 13 which makes the positioning member 12 pivotable. Pushing both sides of the positioning member 12 with the actuator 11 can selectively make the positioning member 12 position in or disengage from a positioning concave 14. The positioning member 12 will pull/stretch a spring 15 while being positioned, so that when the positioning member 12 is not positioned (disengaged from the positioning concave 14), the spring 15 will restore its shape and pull the drawer back to its initial position.

Another conventional drawer returning device 20, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, comprises an actuating slot 21 for cooperating with a pivotal positioning member 22 on which being formed a positioning protrusion 221. The actuating slot 21 drives the positioning member 22 to pivot and makes the positioning protrusion 221 engage (position) or disengage from a positioning concave 23. The positioning member 22 will pull/stretch a spring 24 while being positioned, so that when the positioning member 22 is not positioned (disengaged from the positioning concave 23), the spring 24 will restore its shape and pull the drawer back to its initial position.

The positioning concaves of the above conventional drawer returning devices are all perpendicular to the sliding direction of the drawer, so that the force applied by the user to disengage the positioning member must be relatively large, then the drawer can be returned automatically. With countless trials and efforts, the author of the present invention has finally made a return device for a slide drawer, which not only can be disengaged from the positioning state easily to make the drawer move back automatically, but also is capable of effectively reducing the noise produced by the elastic member and plastic member during returning motion.

The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a return device for a slide drawer, which is positioned by the sliding motion of a slide block and enables the drawer to be pushed back easily with a relatively small force, making it easier to use the drawer.

To achieve the above objective, a return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention comprises: a positioning member, a pulling member, an elastic member, a slide block, and an actuator. The positioning member has a track and a positioning concave formed at one side of the track. The pulling member is slidably disposed on the positioning member and connected to it by the elastic member. The pulling includes a slide slot and an engaging portion, one end of the slide slot is located corresponding to the track of the positioning member, and the engaging portion has a slope. The slide block includes a protrusion to be received in the slide slot of the pulling member and a slide portion to be received in the track and to abut against the slope of the engaging portion of the pulling member. The actuator includes an actuating slot for receiving the protrusion of the slide block.

When the drawer is closed, the protrusion of the slide block is received in the bottom of the actuating slot. When the user pulls the drawer open and makes the actuator move, the actuating slot of the actuator drives the slide block to move, the slide block then moves the pulling member, and then the pulling member stretches the elastic member. When the slide block moves to the positioning concave of the track, the slide portion of the slide block will slide against the slope of the engaging portion of the pulling member, and finally the slide block will slide into the positioning concave and be positioned in place. After being positioned, the protrusion disengages from the actuating slot, so that the drawer is allowed to be pulled out into a completely open position. When the user wants to push the drawer back, the actuating slot of the drawer will hold the protrusion again and drive the slide block out of the positioning concave, which releases the pulling member from the positioned state. Meanwhile, the spring restores its shape and pulls the drawer back into the closed state. Furthermore, since the angle between slide surface of the positioning concave of the positioning member and the track is acute, it is easy for the slide block to slide in and out, so that the drawer can be easily positioned and unlocked from the positioned state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a first type conventional drawer returning device;

FIG. 2 shows a second type conventional drawer returning device;

FIG. 3 is an operational view of the second type conventional drawer returning device;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an assembly of the return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a rear view of a pulling member of the return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a first operational view of the return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a second operational view of the return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a third operational view of the return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a fourth operational view of the return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be clearer from the following description when viewed together with the accompanying drawings, which show, for purpose of illustrations only, the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 4-6, a return device for a slide drawer in accordance with the present invention comprises: a positioning member 30, a pulling member 40, an elastic member 50, a buffering cylinder 50A, a slide block 60 and an actuator 70. The positioning member 30 is mounted on a base A which is to be fixed on furniture, and the actuator 70 is mounted on a pulling seat B which is to be fixed on a drawer of the furniture.

The fixing member 30 includes a track 31 which is provided with a positioning concave 311 at one side and a receiving concave 312 at the other side. The positioning concave 311 has a slide surface 313 which defines an acute angle with respect to the track 31.

The pulling member 40 is slidably disposed on the positioning member 30 and includes a slide slot 41, an engaging portion 42 and a buffering portion 43. The slide slot 41 includes a slide end 411 and a positioning end 412. The engaging portion 42 and the buffering portion 43 are located at opposite sides of the pulling member 40. The slide slot 41 is located between the engaging portion 42 and the buffering portion 43. The engaging portion 42 is a trapezoid structure located at the bottom of the pulling member 40 and has a slope 421 located close to the slide slot 41, and the slide end 411 of the slide slot 41 is located corresponding to the track 31 of the positioning member 30.

The elastic member 50 and the buffering cylinder 50A are disposed at both sides of the positioning member 30 and connected to the positioning member 30 and the pulling member 40, respectively. The elastic member 50 can be a spring or elastic string, and the buffering cylinder 50A can be an oil pressure cylinder, air cylinder or hydraulic cylinder, which can produce buffering effect. In this embodiment, the elastic member 50 is a spring, and the buffering cylinder 50A is an air cylinder.

The slide block 60 includes a protrusion 61 to be received in the track 31 of the positioning member 30 and a slide portion 62 to be disposed in the slide slot 41 of the pulling member 40. At one end of the slide portion 62 is formed an indentation 621 which creates a top portion 622 of the slide block 60, and the top portion 622 serves to abut against the slope 421 of the engaging portion 42 of the pulling member 40.

The actuator 70 is provided for accommodation of the protrusion 61 of the slide block 60 and includes an arc-shaped actuating slot 71 which is defined with a bottom 711 and an open end 712.

When the drawer is closed, as shown in FIGS. 6-10, the protrusion 61 of the slide block 60 is received in the bottom 711 of the actuating slot 71, the elastic member 50 and the buffering cylinder 50A between the pulling member 40 and the positioning member 30 are in a non-stretched state, and the buffering portion 43 is abutted against the positioning member 30. When the drawer is opened, the pulling seat B on the drawer is pulled outward synchronously with the drawer, so that the actuating slot 71 of the actuator 70 on the pulling seat B synchronously drives the slide block 60 to move, and the slide block 60 moves the pulling member 40. Meanwhile, the slide block 60 slides outward along the track 31 of the positioning member 30 and stretches the elastic member 50 and the buffering cylinder 50A. When the slide block 60 slides into the positioning concave 311 of the track 31 of the positioning member 30, the actuating slot 71 and the slide slot 41 force the slide block 60 to slide toward the open end 712 of the actuating slot 71 and the open end 412 of the slide slot 41. Since the top portion 622 of the slide portion 62 of the slide block 60 is abutted against the engaging portion 42 of the pulling member 40, when the slide block 60 is subjected to a force, the top portion 622 will slide against the slope 421 of the engaging portion 42. During sliding movement, the slide block 60 also changes its position within the slide slot 41 of the pulling member 40. When its protrusion 61 slides into the concave 311 of the positioning member 30, the slide block 60 is right received in the receiving concave 312 of the positioning member 30, meanwhile, it also slides to the open end 712 of the actuating slot 71 and the open end 412 of the slide slot 41, where the actuator 70 disengages from the slide block 60, and accordingly the drawer is allowed to be pulled out.

When user wants to push the drawer back, pushing the drawer back can make the pulling seat B on the drawer and the actuator 70 to slide inward. When the actuating slot 71 of the actuator 70 touches the slide block 60, the slide block 60 will slide into the actuating slot 71 via the open end 712. Then keep pushing to make the slide block 60 slide to the bottom 711 of the actuating slot 71, where the slide block 60 is positioned with respect to the actuator 70, and to make the slide block 60 slide toward the slide end 411 of the pulling member 40, meanwhile, the slide block 60 also moves from the positioning concave 311 of the positioning member 30 into the track 31. After sliding into the track 31 of the positioning member 30, the slide block 60 is not positioned (loses the power of being positioned) and will be affect by the pulling force of the elastic member 50 to synchronously drive the pulling member 40, the actuating member 70 and the drawer to their original position. When the pulling member 40 is being pulled back by the elastic member 50, the buffering cylinder 50A between the pulling member 40 and the positioning member 30 can slow down the moving speed of the pulling member 40, thus slowing down the return motion of the drawer while reducing the force for pushing the drawer backward, which can prevent the drawer from sliding back too fast and biting fingers. In addition, at the side of the pulling member 40 close to the positioning member 30 is provided the buffering portion 43, which cushions the shock and noise caused when the pulling member 40 returns and pushes against the positioning member 30.

On the other hand, since the angle between slide surface 313 of the positioning concave 311 of the positioning member 30 and the track 31 is acute, the route along which the slide block 60 slide into and out of the positioning concave 311 must be slantwise, which makes it easier for the slide block 60 to slide in and out. In addition, the force required by the slide block 60 to position in or disengage from the positioning concave 311 is relatively small. Hence, the drawer can be pushed back effortlessly without requiring a great force to be exerted by the user. Furthermore, in this embodiment, there are the elastic member 50 and the buffering cylinder 50A disposed between the positioning member 30 and the pulling member 40, in fact, however, with only the elastic member 50 can also achieve the function of automatically returning the drawer.

While we have shown and described various embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

1. A return device for a slide drawer comprising: a positioning member having a track and a positioning concave formed at one side of the track; a pulling member slidably disposed on the positioning member and having a slide slot and an engaging portion, one end of the slide slot being located corresponding to the track of the positioning member, the engaging portion having a slope located close to the slide slot; an elastic member connected to the positioning member and the pulling member; the slide block having a protrusion to be received in the slide slot of the pulling member and a slide portion to be received in the track and to abut against the slope of the engaging portion of the pulling member; and an actuator including an actuating slot for receiving the protrusion of the slide block, the slide portion of the slide block being employed to slide on the slope of the engaging portion of the pulling member to make the protrusion of the slide block slide in and out of the positioning concave of the track, the above arrangements allow the slide drawer to be positioned after being pulled out or to be released into a non-positioned state and automatically return back to its initial position.
 2. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 1, wherein a receiving concave is formed at the other side of the track of the positioning member opposite the positioning concave and provided for accommodation of the slide portion of the slide block.
 3. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the slide portion of the slide block has a top portion to be abutted against the slope of the engaging portion of the pulling member.
 4. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the track of the positioning member defines an acute angle with respect to the positioning concave.
 5. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pulling member includes a buffering portion located at one side thereof opposite the engaging portion and employed to contact the positioning member.
 6. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the elastic member is a spring or elastic string.
 7. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a buffering cylinder connected to the positioning member and the pulling member.
 8. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the buffering cylinder and the elastic member are disposed at both sides of the positioning member.
 9. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the buffering cylinder is an oil cylinder.
 10. The return device for a slide drawer as claimed in claim 7, wherein the buffering cylinder is an air cylinder. 